Consumer goods pricing act

You might be aware that GPU prices have skyrocketed in recent months. This is due in large part to the rise of cryptocurrencies, to which there are many. Bitcoin is the first and most popular one, but what is Bitcoin? We're here to demystify the topic for you. While Bitcoin and cryptocurrency are incredibly deep and complex topics, in this beginner's guide, we'll not only explain what Bitcoin is, but we'll also dive into how it's created, discuss its use-cases, clear up misconceptions, and much more. Here's everything you should know about Bitcoin and cryptocurrency. What is Bitcoin? Bitcoin is the first decentralized digital currency. You can send and receive it to an individual via a peer-to-peer payment system anywhere in the world as long as you have an internet connection. You can also purchase goods with it among several online sites and physical stores. Its decentralized design means that it isn't controlled by any one individual, central bank, company, or country. In short, … [Read more...] about What Is Bitcoin And Why Are The Price Of GPUs So High?

Like all the best gaming stories, the project that would eventually lead to the Analogue Super Nt started with an obsession. As the CEO of Analogue, a company that specializes in high-end retro hardware, Christopher Taber remains bound to the tech of yesteryear. Soon, Analogue will release the Super Nt — a pristine, sub-$200 Super Nintendo clone that uses cutting-edge proprietary tech to replicate the original’s guts — that represents the culmination of Taber’s passion for high-fidelity retro gaming, which he describes as “totally unreasonable, nauseating, all-consuming.” Over the past eight years, Taber’s company has clawed its way from the depths of obscure gaming forums to become a recognized name in gaming culture. And now, on the eve of the launch of the most commercially-viable product in his company’s short history, Taber couldn’t be more ecstatic. “When I first started, it was like there was this closed door and I kept … [Read more...] about How Analogue remade the Super Nintendo

Sony has announced Kaz Hirai will step down as boss of the company on 1st April. Always laughing. The former PlayStation chief, who has run Sony as president and CEO since April 2012, will become chairman of Sony. Sony's chief financial officer Kenichiro Yoshida replaces Hirai as Sony boss. Hirai leaves Sony in rude health, having turned around the mega corporation after a run of massive losses tied to flagging mobile phone and television sales. Sony's PlayStation business continues to print money, with the PlayStation 4 the current console market leader, and billions of dollars in revenue rolling into the coffers from game sales and digital purchases. But Kaz is perhaps best known among gamers for his eye-catching comments while in charge of PlayStation. Who can forget his infamous on-stage Ridge Racer moment at E3 2006? Poor Kaz copped some flack when he tried to justify the $600 launch price of the PS3. "I think when you look at what we put into the box - Cell, Blu-Ray, backwards … [Read more...] about Kaz Hirai to step down as Sony boss

I attended my first E3 back in 1995 and have sat through dozens of media presentations. To me, they're like a secret language of anxiety and folly. Below, I’ve shared my thoughts on this year's installment. Last week, my colleague Brian Crecente wrote a cogent piece about the practical and commercial point of E3, and how it might face an uncertain future. After a few days of slogging around E3’s media presentations, I’m intrigued by a slightly different question: Why the hell do we do this to ourselves? I’m especially interested by the so-called media events staged by companies like Electronic Arts, Microsoft, Sony, Bethesda and Ubisoft. These quasi-press conferences require enormous expenditure, mass discomfort and long waits. The amount of new, valuable information they contain is negligible, especially considering the wealth of alternative methods, as demonstrated by Nintendo Direct and various other strategies used by companies all through the year. They … [Read more...] about E3’s bizarre, bombastic media events

The first time Taylor Kurosaki and Bob Rafei saw a running PlayStation, they were in a Las Vegas hotel room. It was the 1995 Consumer Electronics Show. They, along with the company they worked for, Naughty Dog, were being given a behind-closed-doors look at Sony's first foray into the game console industry. When they describe the event now, they use words like "inspiring" and "enthralled" and phrases like "blown away." They didn't know it at the time, but the members of Naughty Dog in that room — Kurosaki, Rafei and co-founders Jason Rubin and Andy Gavin — were looking at the system that would host the team's next game: Crash Bandicoot. They were seeing the console their company would eventually create the unofficial mascot for — the console they would develop Naughty Dog's first smash hit for. It was Kurosaki and Rafei's second day with the company. Naughty Dog released Crash Bandicoot for Sony's original PlayStation in September 1996. In it, the team took an old … [Read more...] about Crash Bandicoot: An oral history